


this was bound to happen eventually

by nervousbakedown



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Catharsis, Celebrations, First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 09:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10568799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nervousbakedown/pseuds/nervousbakedown
Summary: “Of course it’s real,” Kris smiles. “It better be real.”Or, post-World Series emotions.





	

Kris hears someone call his name amidst the roar of the celebration. Before he even turns around, he knows who the voice belongs to. He shoulders past the teammates crowded around him and locks eyes with Anthony.

Anthony is smiling, hasn’t stopped smiling since he caught Kris’ throw that gave them the final out and won them the World Series. 

“Hey,” Anthony greets Kris as they approach each other. They end up standing toe to toe, close enough so they can hear each other. “Been looking for all over for you.”

Kris laughs. They had been in the same locker room for close to an hour now, but somehow they’d lost each other in the craziness and dancing and champagne spraying.

“I’ve been here,” Kris says, almost shouting to make sure Anthony hears him. 

Anthony doesn’t reply aside from shaking his head and laughing. He reaches out and places his hands on Kris’ arms, at his biceps right above his elbows. He shakes him lightly and says, “This is real. Can you believe it?!”

Kris is reminded of when Anthony jumped into his arms after the final out, the pure happiness in his eyes. He still has that look.

Kris lifts his arms so he can hold onto Anthony’s elbows, joining the two of them in a sorta-hug, holding onto each other to withstand the gentle pushing and shoving of their teammates around them.

“Of course it’s real,” Kris smiles. “It better be real.” 

He blinks and looks down for a moment. He’s hyperaware of how close he and Anthony are. A few more inches and their foreheads would touch. 

Suddenly, they’re pushed by someone cheering obnoxiously and running past. They were gone too quick for Kris to get a read on who it was; all of the noise seemed to mix together anyway. 

Anthony pulls away and takes a few steps backwards, still holding onto Kris. He slides his hands down Kris’ forearms while he walks, and they keep looking at each other. Eventually Anthony is holding Kris’ hands. Kris is amazed that Anthony hasn’t tripped over anyone or anything walking backwards like that. 

Kris lets himself be guided along. He holds onto Anthony’s fingers tight, pressing his thumb into his knuckle as to not get separated. He never realized how much smaller Anthony’s hands are than his own.

Once they break free from the crowd and the noise level diminishes, Kris asks, “Where are we going?”

Anthony waits until they’re out of the locker room and a few steps down the hall before letting go of Kris’ right hand. He turns and walks beside him. 

Anthony swings their hands that are still firmly clasped together back and forth a few times. “Somewhere we can breathe for a bit.”

Kris isn’t ready when Anthony breaks into a run, jerking forward at first and pulling him along some more. It doesn’t take long for Kris to catch up, only a few steps, and soon they’re jogging through the corridors of the Progressive Field clubhouse.

They giggle and glance over at each other every so often. Their fingers entwine at some point. Kris doesn’t recognize who started it, but once they’re holding hands like that his stomach flips and his cheeks flush.

There’s no one around when they finally slow down and stop. Their sighs and laughs echo in the spacious hall. Anthony lets go of Kris’ hand and places his own over his heart before doubling over, pretending to be more exhausted than he really is. Kris doubles over too, but only because he’s laughing so hard.

Once they stand up again, Kris watches Anthony for a few moments. He then asks, “So why are we down here?”

Anthony purses his lips while he thinks of an answer. They turn to face each other again. This time, it’s Kris that closes the distance between them.

“I just wanted to be alone with you for a bit,” Anthony says. 

Kris feels that heat spread across his face again. He surges forward and wraps his arms around Anthony’s neck, pulling him in a close hug. Anthony hugs Kris back tight. He squeezes his chest and tilts his head so he can bury his face in Kris’ neck. Kris does the same, as best as he can with their height difference.

They stand there like that for a several minutes. They’re quiet enough that Kris can hear Anthony’s heartbeat, close enough that he can feel his breath against his neck.

Kris blinks a couple times to keep his eyes from watering. 

Winning was emotional, but now he was emotional for another reason. He knew he wanted to win, knew he and Anthony wanted to win it all _together_ , but he never imagined it would happen so soon. Some time alone to take it all in was probably a good thing.

Anthony slowly drags his palm down Kris’ back. He makes the first effort to separate, Kris soon complies with him. They pull back just enough to look at each other. Kris leans down until their foreheads touch.

Kris blinks and fixates on Anthony’s brown eyes. While he knows those eyes well, part of Kris feels like he’s seeing them for the first time. They’re warm and soulful and something about the way Anthony is gazing at him keeps him from looking away. 

“Wonder if the guys are looking for us,” Anthony whispers. 

Kris shifts his hands that are on Anthony’s shoulders, pushing the fabric of his t-shirt back slightly. “Hopefully not.”

Anthony smiles and sighs. He closes his eyes and Kris copies him. They move even closer -- enough so that their noses touch.

Kris sighs and Anthony is startled a bit. His body jolts forward, as if contact with Kris sends a spark through him. Kris feels Anthony’s breath against his lips. He feels like sighing again but manages to contain it. 

“Are we going to do this?” Anthony asks. 

Kris knows what he means; it’s obvious what he means. They’ve gotten this far, taken it this slow… It’s almost like a competition, seeing how long they can do this, how close they can get until it happens.

Kris nudges his nose against Anthony’s. He holds his breath and takes in the moment. Suddenly, he can’t wait anymore. 

“Kiss me,” Kris breathes out.

He sounds desperate and his voice cracks, but he doesn’t have time to think about it because two seconds later Anthony tilts his head and presses his lips against his. Anthony brings his hands up and lightly holds Kris’ face in his hands. He disconnects the kiss, just for a moment, so that he can then capture Kris’ bottom lip between both of his own.

They kiss nice and slow, more perfect than any movie kiss Kris had ever seen. He likes how soft Anthony’s lips are, the fact that he tastes like that expensive celebratory champagne. He also likes the wet sounds their kissing makes, the sounds of their breath, both easy to focus on due to the quiet of the hallway.

Kris may be the taller out of the two of them but he’s not in charge at all. He lets Anthony do what he wants and finds that’s the way he wants it to be. Kris lets his hands wander up and down Anthony’s back while Anthony licks into his mouth and ghosts his thumbs across his cheekbones.

They break apart after they both end up sighing, Anthony first and Kris echoing him. Anthony’s hands leave Kris’ face and settle on his chest, palms flat. Kris’ eyes flutter open just in time for him to watch Anthony smile.

Kris doesn’t know what to say. He smiles and laughs under his breath before pursing his lips. He grasps onto Anthony’s shirt as his hands rest at his waist.

“Wow,” Anthony breaks the silence, still speaking in a soft voice just above a whisper.

“Wow,” Kris repeats.

“Should we go back?”

Kris studies Anthony for a moment then steps forward, walking him backwards until he’s pressed against the nearest wall. Kris leans in closer to his teammate and brings a hand up to caress one side of his face.

There’s no good enough reason for them to rejoin the party. Not right now, at least.

“Let them find us,” Kris says.

**Author's Note:**

> there's never enough post-win fluff, especially with these two


End file.
